Re: [IP] Getting Pregnant and having a baby w/ Type 1

At 12:29 PM -0700 5/6/99, April M. Mar wrote:
>Meaning, when you were pregnant you must have had highs and lows
>sometimes. Did you children suffer any ill effects from occational
>highs or lows that you may have had?
>
>How difficult was it keeping control in the first trimester when I hear
>your insulin needs change constantly?
>
>It sure would be nice to know what to expect. So I don't freak out that
>I've damaged my baby for life if I ever have a high or low which I know
>I will have, its inevitable to some point.
Hi April,
I have two children, aged 10 years and 19 months. With my first child, my
son, I was on MDI, with my second, my daughter, I was on the pump. I've had
DM for 26 years. Both my kids are very healthy, although they were both
born 6 weeks prematurely due to my pre-eclampsia (something DM moms do tend
to have more than other Moms, although it also runs in my family. It is an
inherited syndrome, something they discovered not long ago, so sk your mom
if she or any other relatives have had it or "toxemia," as it used to be
known.)
My son was an "accident" and my A1c was pretty awful when I conceived.
However, as soon as I found out I was pg., I got myself under control. It's
amazing what one can do for a baby.
Highs and lows are going to happen during pregnancy (we're human, after
all), but my perinatologists (high-risk obs.) told me that the short-term,
occastional high or low BGs were less important than keeping your BGs in
good general control.
I think I must have had a couple 200s, and certainly some 180s or so.
(You'll find out that one's memory is not what it was prior to having
children. :-))
I found that *frequent* testing was a huge help. Even if I ended up with a
high, I could quickly correct it. Same with a low. (I found that my
threshold for detecting lows really dropped during pregnancy. I think due
to the fact that I was so tightly controlled, my body didn't feel anything
abnormal until I hit 50 or below.)
It is easier in the 2nd and third trimesters. Your insulin needs still
change, but it tends to be more of a slow upward shift, not the roller
coaster of the first trimester.
The pump is a huge help and just remember to test, test, test. :-)
I would also recommend a high-risk ob. or someone who *knows* DM and
pregnancy. I didn't have one during my son's pregnancy and I wish I could
have understood more about how insulin needs change, when they change, etc.
Good luck and enjoy! My kids are the best things I've ever done--well worth
all the finger pricks. :-)
Jenny
(Type I, 26 years, D. pumper since 10/95)
email @ redacted
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